*Scripture and Devotion for the Thursday after Populus Sion: December 12, 2013Scripture: Isaiah 29:1-14 (NKJV)*
1 "Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! Add year to year; Let feasts come around. 2 Yet I will distress Ariel; There shall be heaviness and sorrow, and it shall be to Me as Ariel. 3 I will encamp against you all around, I will lay siege against you with a mound, and I will raise siegeworks against you. 4 You shall be brought down, you shall speak out of the ground; Your speech shall be low, out of the dust; Your voice shall be like a medium's, out of the ground; And your speech shall whisper out of the dust. 5 "Moreover the multitude of your foes shall be like fine dust, and the multitude of the terrible ones like chaff that passes away; Yes, it shall be in an instant, suddenly. 6 You will be punished by the LORD of hosts with thunder and earthquake and great noise, with storm and tempest and the flame of devouring fire. 7 The multitude of all the nations who fight against Ariel, even all who fight against her and her fortress, and distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision. 8 It shall even be as when a hungry man dreams, and look—he eats; But he awakes, and his soul is still empty; Or as when a thirsty man dreams, and look—he drinks; But he awakes, and indeed he is faint, and his soul still craves: So the multitude of all the nations shall be, who fight against Mount Zion." 9 Pause and wonder! Blind yourselves and be blind! They are drunk, but not with wine; They stagger, but not with intoxicating drink. 10 For the LORD has poured out on you the spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes, namely, the prophets; And He has covered your heads, namely, the seers. 11 The whole vision has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one who is literate, saying, "Read this, please." And he says, "I cannot, for it is sealed." 12 Then the book is delivered to one who is illiterate, saying, "Read this, please." And he says, "I am not literate." 13 Therefore the LORD said: "Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men, 14 therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work among this people, a marvelous work and a wonder; For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden." *Devotion* Throughout the Book of Isaiah the Lord, through Isaiah, is calling Judah and Jerusalem back to faithfulness. He wants them to listen to His word given in the books of Moses and the prophets and spoken to them by Isaiah. Judah and Jerusalem have fallen away from the Lord! Punishment is coming upon them! They need to listen to God and repent! They cannot help themselves! "Woe to Ariel!" More often than not you and I are like Judah and Jerusalem. We fail to listen to God when He speaks to us. We try to do "it" for ourselves. Then when things go bad we find we have no ability to change anything. Then we worry. However, like the Israelites, the Lord calls us back too. Every time we go to the Divine Service or hear His Word, He is calling us back. He speaks to us: "Beloved in the Lord!…draw near…and confess your sins to God…and ask His help in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ." By faith we ask and in His mercy He answers in the words of the Pastor: "I by virtue of my Office, as a called and ordained servant of the Word…I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost." He forgives and we are forgiven. As St. Paul writes, "We were therefore buried with Him through Baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." (Rom 6:4)
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